Stockholm Syndrome
by spiritx33
Summary: When Natalia is kidnapped, the Miami-Dade CSIs vow to rescue her and put her kidnapper behind bars. Things become a little more complicated, though, when the team runs into a problem none of them expected.
1. Prologue

**Title:** Stockholm Syndrome  
**Author:** spiritx33  
**Disclaimer:** If you're that concerned, check my profile.  
**Genre:** Drama  
**Rating:** T for now – rating may go up in future chapters.  
**Synopsis:** When Natalia is kidnapped, the Miami-Dade CSIs vow to rescue her and put her kidnapper behind bars. Things become a little more complicated, though, when the team runs into a problem none of them expected.  
**Character:** Natalia Boa Vista  
**Warnings:** Language. Violence in later chapters. Any extreme violence will be preceded with a warning.  
**Author's Note:** I realize that I have several fics that are still incomplete, and I promise you that they will not stay that way forever. I've been trying to finish them, but this fic keeps popping into my head. Hopefully once this one is over, I'll be able to focus on the others.

**Stockholm Syndrome  
**Prologue

Natalia Boa Vista was exhausted. For the last forty-eight hours, the Miami-Dade CSIs had been living at the crime lab, working on one of the biggest high-priority cases they'd ever had. In fact, it had been so high-priority, so important, that Horatio had refused to let his crime scene investigators go home until they had solved it. The four had taken their two-hour breaks one after the other, often using their free time to take a nap on the couch in the lounge. The naps – and coffee that they had constantly brewed – had done little to help their exhaustion. It was quite a miracle to Natalia that the team had been able solve the case in their physical states, yet somehow, they had.

They had, and now they were all headed home. Just the thought of it made Natalia smile. As soon as she got into the house, she'd be up the stairs, in her pajamas, and in her bed faster than she could blink.

The CSI wasted no time as she pulled into the driveway, turned the car off, and exited the vehicle. Not wanting to wake the neighbors, she quietly shut the door and then started toward her house, hitting the "lock" button on her car key as she went.

Just as Natalia reached the front door of her house, an arm snaked around her waist while the other held a cloth over her nose and mouth. Immediately, Natalia's belongings fell from her hands as she began to fight off whoever it was that had such a firm grip on her. She tried to reach for the firearm attached to her belt, but the chemical-soaked cloth was faster.

Her body went limp.

Everything went black.

--

**A/N:** So that was just a little prologue to get things going. The CSIs will make their appearances in the next chapter, as will Natalia's kidnapper. Stay tuned…


	2. Chapter One

**Stockholm Syndrome  
**Chapter One

It was right around noon when Calleigh, Eric, and Ryan arrived at the crime lab, ready to work. They all looked much better than they had the last couple of days – there were no more dark circles under their eyes, no more exhausted looks on their faces, and no more wrinkled clothing on their bodies. On top of their joy at having solved what had been an extremely tough case, Horatio had told them to come in four hours later than usual. The CSIs normally put their lab coats on at eight o'clock in the morning, but the leader of the MDPD Crime Lab had decided to let his team sleep in today. After the last two days, they definitely needed – and deserved – the extra rest.

…Which they had taken more than willingly. Calleigh could've easily slept much longer than she had, but ten hours of sleep was enough for her to function throughout the day. Her morning cup of coffee would certainly help her, too.

It was like a tradition with the CSIs – after they arrived at the lab and put their belongings away, they would gather in the lounge and have a cup of coffee while they talked about various things. They had been doing it for years.

"As soon as I got home, I was _out_," Eric said to his two colleagues. He was seated on the couch with his feet propped up on the small table in front of him. "I didn't even bother to call my mother to apologize again for missing dinner."

Ryan, sitting in an armchair opposite Eric, took a sip of his coffee and then nodded. "Yeah," he started, "I went right to the bed, too."

Eric shifted his position on the couch so that he could see Calleigh, who was preparing her own coffee at the counter behind him. "What about you, Cal?"

"Same as you two," she said, ripping open a packet of sugar. "I was so worn out that I almost overslept, too." She poured the sugar into the steaming hot coffee and tossed the wrapper in the garbage.

The three CSIs spent the next few minutes conversing about their lives before Ryan spoke up. "Hey," he started, making sure to get Eric and Calleigh's attention, "Where's Natalia?"

Three pairs of eyes looked up at the clock above the door – 12:15.

"Maybe _she_ overslept," Calleigh commented.

Eric had his phone out. "Then I'm going to give her a wakeup call." He punched in her cell phone number and waited quietly for her to pick up. _Ring_. _Ring_. _Ring_. There was one more ring before it went to voicemail. Eric left her a quick message, reminding his colleague that they'd had work at noon. "Let me try her house," he announced to Ryan and Calleigh as he hung up, then dialed Natalia's other number. He wasn't any more successful with her house number than he had been with her cell, because he once again received her voicemail. He left her one more message, and then hung up. "Maybe she's in the shower." That was a possibility.

Suddenly, a beeping noise filled the room. All three CSIs looked down at their beepers – two of which were going off. Calleigh and Eric unhooked theirs from their belt to read them while Ryan waited in silence. After a few seconds, Calleigh spoke up.

"Shooting downtown." She looked from Ryan to Eric. "Let's go."

With that, the two senior CSIs were off, leaving Ryan behind alone. "Okay," he called after them, despite knowing that they were already out of earshot. "I'll just sit here. By myself." He went to take another sip of coffee when his boss, Lt. Horatio Caine, walked in.

"Good morning, Mr. Wolfe," the red head said to his employee.

"Good morning, H."

"I take it that I just missed Calleigh and Eric?" Horatio asked, placing his hands on his hips as he looked out into the hallway.

Ryan placed his cup of coffee down on the table in front of him. "Yeah," he responded. "Just got a call out."

"And Natalia?" The Lieutenant turned back to Ryan.

He shrugged. "I don't know… She must be running late. Eric called her before, but he got her voicemail."

Horatio stood quietly for a moment or two, staring at the floor. Ryan tried to figure out what he was thinking, but it was no use – his boss had always been unreadable.

"Why don't you drive over to her house, Mr. Wolfe?"

Ryan knew that wasn't a question. With a nod, he stood up, tossed his coffee out, and left for Natalia's house.

The ride from the lab to the small neighborhood in Coconut Grove took no more than ten minutes. As Ryan pulled up to the large house, he spotted his colleague's car still in the driveway. "So she _did_ oversleep," he said softly to himself as he exited the vehicle and made his way to her door. Before he reached it, though, he saw something that made him stop.

In front of the CSI were a purse and keys – both Natalia's. They were lying on the ground, as if they had been dropped. Immediately, Ryan reached for his gun – he didn't like this. He held the firearm firmly in his right hand as he used his left to reach for his cell phone, flip it open, and dial Horatio's number.

The second Horatio picked up, Ryan began. "H," he said, "I'm at Natalia's and something is wrong."

After hanging up with his boss, Ryan waited rather impatiently on Natalia's porch, his gun still out and ready to be used if the need be. Horatio had told him not to touch anything, not to go into the house, until he got there… which didn't take too long. Horatio was there within four minutes and breaking down the door within five.

The two CSIs made their way through the house, calling for Natalia. They went from room to room, finding each one empty. After checking the last room, which was also unoccupied, Ryan secured his firearm and turned to Horatio.

"Where the hell is she?"

Meanwhile, in another location, Natalia was coming to. Her brown eyes fluttered open, then tried to focus on her surroundings. She was in a room. The walls were off-white and the carpet a navy color. The only objects she could immediately see were a wooden table with two chairs and a lamp overhead. In front of the table, closer to her, was a video camera set up on a tripod. They were all sideways.

Actually, _she_ was sideways. She was lying on a bed. And as she tried to sit up, she realized that it would be somewhat difficult, as both her hands and feet were bound. Another piece of duct tape was covering her mouth, preventing her from talking or yelling.

Once she was able to sit up, she now had an opportunity to see the rest of the room. There was a nightstand on each side of the bed, both topped with small lamps. To the left of the bed was a closed door and to the right of the bed was a bureau. Poking out of the same wall that the bureau was against was a staircase leading upstairs. The staircase was as far away from the bed as it was from the table.

There were no windows on the walls. She had to be in a basement. But whose basement? Was it in Miami?

Just as she tried to recall last night's events, she heard a door open and close, then footsteps coming down the stairs. Natalia stilled completely, her eyes wide as she waited to get a look at who she assumed was her captor.

"You're finally up," said a scruffy voice as the person made the last few steps down the stairs. "Took you long enough."

Natalia kept quiet as she watched the person approach her – he was a white male, possibly early forties. He had to be at least six feet tall and weigh somewhere around two hundred and fifty pounds. He had short brown hair, brown eyes, and a short beard – as if he hadn't shaved in a few days.

There were so many questions Natalia wanted to ask, but the duct tape made that impossible. It was as if the man had read her mind, though, because within the next second, he was explaining everything.

"I, Ms. Boa Vista, am Jason," he said as he made his way over to the other side of the room. Sitting down at the table, he continued: "And I need your help."

Natalia kept a stone expression on her face, hiding her fear as she waited for Jason to go on. What did he need her help with?

"You see, you MDPD CSIs put a friend of mine away for a crime he didn't commit." The calm look that had been on his face was slowly and subtly turning into frustration, which she immediately noticed. This wasn't going to be good.

"Now, that's where you come in," he said, pointing to her. "I've written a letter to your friends over at the MDPD letting them know that I've taken you captive. When they let my innocent friend go, I'll let you go." He stood slowly and started his walk back toward Natalia. "And if they give me a hard time about it," he tapped the camera as he walked past it, closer to Natalia, "I'll make sure to send them plenty of video updates, each one showing them how much pain I'm putting you through."

He leaned down so that he was just inches from her face.

"So much pain that you'll wish you were dead."

--

**A/N:** Dun, dun, dunnnnnnnn!


	3. Chapter Two

**Stockholm Syndrome  
**Chapter Two

Eric was in Trace, working on evidence from the downtown shooting when Ryan rushed into the same lab and immediately began working on his own evidence. The younger CSI was completely oblivious to his surroundings, which Eric found pretty amusing. After a few moments of watching the frantic man, he finally spoke up. "What's the rush, Wolfe?" he asked, a wide grin on his face.

"Natalia."

The grin on his face quickly disappeared. He had no idea what was going on, but he didn't like the tone in Ryan's voice. "What about Natalia? What's going on?" His own evidence was quickly forgotten about as he moved closer to his co-worker.

Ryan paused what he was doing to face Eric. "H had me go to Natalia's when he found out she wasn't at work," he explained. "When I got there, her purse and keys were lying on the ground. Car was in the driveway, no one inside the house."

It took a few moments for Eric to process the possibility that his friend could be kidnapped. This had already happened once with Calleigh, and now Natalia…

"But you don't know that for sure, that she was kidnapped," he said. Ryan's response was a nod. It brought very little relief to the older CSI, but at least it was _something_. "Good," he said. "I don't think that we should believe anything without solid proof." The statement had been more for himself than for Ryan. He had a terrible feeling that Natalia really had been kidnapped, and the only way he could remain the least bit sane was to remind himself that they had no solid proof… yet.

At that moment, both of their pagers went off. It was Horatio, telling them to come to his office – ASAP.

After asking a couple lab technicians to watch over their evidence, Eric and Ryan took off for their boss' office almost at a run. It wasn't very far from trace, so they were there seconds later. Already inside the office was Calleigh, as well as Horatio, who was looking at a piece of paper in his hands. Quietly, both men took a seat on either side of their blonde co-worker.

"Horatio?" Calleigh asked, her voice soft and nervous. She didn't know why, but she had a sickening feeling in the pit of her stomach. Something was wrong.

The red head continued to stare at the paper for another few seconds before looking at his CSIs. "Natalia has been kidnapped," he said bluntly. He ignored the trio's horrified reactions as he began to explain the situation the best he could: "After you two left for your crime scene," he said, nodding toward Eric and Calleigh, "I had Ryan go to Natalia's house to see if everything was all right. He found what could be described as a suspicious scene, so I decided it would be best to consider it a crime scene.

"When we arrived back here no more than five minutes ago, I found this letter waiting for me on my desk." The paper he had been holding in his hand was now in front of a very still Calleigh. Slowly, she picked up the paper and read it to herself:

_Lieutenant Caine,_

_Missing something? I have your CSI. If you want her back, you'll need to do me a little favor._

_A few weeks ago, you put my friend away for murdering his ex-girlfriend. Conner Manning is innocent._

_What I need you to do is let him go. When you release him, I'll release her. Until then, Natalia Boa Vista will stay with me. Don't worry – I won't kill her, but you should know that I do have a nasty temper and very little patience. The longer you keep Conner Manning behind bars, the longer and more painful your CSI's torture sessions will be._

Calleigh didn't know what to think. She looked from the paper to an oddly calm Horatio, who was staring at the floor. She passed the letter to Ryan, who read it, then passed it to Eric. They spent the entire time in silence, trying to let it all sink in.

With a shaky hand, Eric placed the paper back down on the desk when he finished reading it. His brown eyes made their way from Ryan's face, to Calleigh's, and finally, to Horatio's. "What do we do, H?" he asked.

For the first time in a while, Horatio didn't have an immediate answer. What could they do? There had been almost no evidence at the scene and there were no witnesses. They had very little to go by… but that would have to be good enough.

"Eric, I want you and Calleigh to finish your current case. There's not much that you two can do with the little evidence we have from Natalia's." He could tell by the looks on the two CSIs' faces that they wanted to put the other case on hold and help find Natalia, but it was more important that they worked on their shooting first.

"Mr. Wolfe, I want you to go back to working on that trace evidence." Ryan nodded as Horatio picked up the letter. "I'll drop this off at Questioned Documents and then take a look at Natalia's belongings, okay?" All three CSIs nodded. "Okay. Let's go."

...

According to the alarm clock on the nightstand, it was now nine o'clock at night. She should be home right now, getting ready to fall asleep. Instead, she was in a location unknown to her, being held captive by a man who was nothing short of intimidating.

She was terrified, hungry, and in desperate need of the bathroom.

Natalia let out a frustrated growl as she literally danced back and forth across the room. Jason had untied her arms and legs, as well as removed the duct tape from her mouth, several hours ago, and she had spent a lot of time moving around ever since. Her movement was mostly due to the fact that her bladder would burst if she kept still much longer, but she was also looking for a way out.

She had gone over every crevice of the small room, hoping that perhaps there was a secret passage or something that would help her escape. Luck was not on her side, though, as she never came upon anything that could prove the least bit useful to her.

But she wouldn't give up. She wouldn't give up until she was out of here. Well… either that, or dead.

She was a fighter, and she'd keep trying… right after she did something about her bladder. It had been almost twenty-four hours since she had last gone to the bathroom, and she was feeling it. She needed to relieve herself, bathroom or not.

And so Natalia made her way across the room, as far away from the bed as she could get. She skirted her way around the table and into one of the corners, where she pulled down her pants and underwear, and made to squat.

"What the HELL are you doing?!"

Natalia froze and looked up at Jason, who had just come down the stairs. It took her a few seconds to find her voice as she stared into his furious brown eyes before she explained, "I need to use the bathroom."

"Then use it!" Jason yelled as he marched over to her, barely giving her enough time to pull her pants back up before he grabbed onto her arm and dragged her toward the one other door in the room. He kept a firm grip on her arm as he grabbed onto the handle and went to turn it, only to find that it was locked. "Fuck," he muttered.

The CSI flinched as Jason suddenly kicked the door down, revealing what had been on the other side of it: a bathroom.

It was small, but was still able fit a tub/shower, toilet, and sink. Natalia barely had time to make out anything else before she was pushed into the room. "Go!"

Slowly, Natalia stepped up to the toilet, then turned around to look at the doorway. Jason stood there, watching her, making no movement to fix the door. "Go," he said again, his voice low and angry.

Only after realizing that he wasn't going to give her any privacy, Natalia pulled her pants down to her knees and sat on the toilet. She made sure to avoid looking anywhere near the doorway and did her best to ignore the man staring at her.

--

**A/N:** Thanks for the reviews! I may not always respond to them, but they're greatly appreciated!


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